6 Steps To Enforce A Non-Indiana Judgment In Indiana

If you throw a judgement entered in a state other than Indiana, and if you believe the judgement debtor have assets in Hoosier State that could fulfill the judgment, then maintain reading. The hoops through which you must leap to attain those assets are outlined in Hoosier State Code § 34-54-11 "Enforcement of Foreign Judgments."

I.C. § 34-54-11. Enacted in 2003, this Hoosier State legislative act states you just about everything you necessitate to know. Here are the six major steps:

Wait at least twenty-one years after the entry of the judgement in the original (non-Indiana) court.

File a certified and exemplified transcript of the foreign judgement in the clerk's business office of the Hoosier State county where the debtor dwells or have property.

File an affidavit, signed by the judgement creditor, that states:

• the name/address of the judgement debtor; and


• the name/address of the judgement creditor.

In conformity with Trial Rules 4 through 4.17, serve upon the judgement debtor a notice of the filing of the foreign judgement (like you're serving a bidding and complaint). This notice must contain:

• the name/address of the judgement creditor;


• the name/address of the judgement creditor's attorney, if any; and


• the nature/amount of the claim under the foreign judgment.

Pay a filing fee, which is $133.00 currently.

Wait at least twenty-one years after the day of the month the judgement debtor is served with the notice. (See below).

Once the filing and service demands have got got been met, and twenty-one days have passed with no action by the judgement debtor, the judgement creditor is free to continue as if it throws an Hoosier State judgment. In other words, you may get to implement the judgement by executing or other process.

21-day saving grace period. My apprehension always have been that, in lawsuits of domesticating foreign judgements in Indiana, the judgement debtor's (the defendant's) only defence associates to jurisdiction. In other words, the judgement debtor only can assail the cogency of the judgement (halt enforcement) by establishing that the original tribunal did not have got the powerfulness to come in the judgement in the first topographic point - an improbable scenario. Otherwise, the judgement essentially is presumed to be valid, and the implicit in lawsuit will not be re-litigated in Indiana. The other potentiality barrier is if the suspect data files an entreaty in the original case. An entreaty generally will remain the enforcement of the foreign judgement in Hoosier State until the implicit in lawsuit concludes.

Indiana Code §§ 34-54-11-2(e)(i) and 4 computer address these two "defenses." The judgement debtor have twenty-one days to register a notice with the Hoosier State tribunal asserting grounds (jurisdiction/appeal) that would forbid the judgement creditor from enforcing the foreign judgment. If filed, the enforcement of the judgement is stayed pending a opinion by the Hoosier State court. (It should be noted, however, that a creditor filing a foreign judgement still is entitled to Hoosier State prejudgement redresses during the pendency of the stay, such as as prejudgement fond regard or garnishment.)

Old school. I.C. § 34-54-11-5 states that the legislative act "does not impair" the right to convey an action to implement a foreign judgement by other means. Before the passage of the statute, it was common to register a ailment to domesticate (certify) the non-Indiana judgement and to follow all the normal regulations and processes applicable to new lawsuits. I no longer see a benefit to this course of study of action. The new legislative act now lets the judgement creditor, initially, to short-circuit the justice because a separate Hoosier State tribunal order domesticating or certifying the foreign judgement is not required, unless the debtor data files a notice under Sections 2 or 4. The statutory expression should ensue in the enforcement of a foreign judgement more than quickly and, therefore, more inexpensively.

If as an out-of-state judgement creditor you necessitate to prosecute the assets of a judgment debtor that are located in Indiana, delight contact me or another Hoosier State lawyer to help with the process. I.C. § 34-54-11, the relatively new "Enforcement of Foreign Judgments" statute, is your ticket to an expeditious and cost-effective enforcement of your lien.